Album Moods

Around the Next Dream

AllMusic Review
by Paul Collins

Any time Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce work together, comparisons to Cream are inevitable. Given that this album's opener, "Waiting in the Wings," bears a passing resemblance to "White Room," and that this is then followed by a "Crossroads" knockoff, perhaps the comparisons are justifiable. Unfortunately, BBM doesn't benefit from such self-plagiarism. The weak link is, surprisingly, not with the Clapton stand-in, Gary Moore -- it's in the underwhelming drumming and bass playing by the two bona fide Creamsters. Bruce's voice is as pleasing as ever, but his and Baker's merely competent English blues instrumental work will fall short of the expectations of fans who know what they're capable of.